Our Vanishing Water Supply: The Risks of Overuse, Waste and Reluctance to Convert to Rainwater

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This is the first of a three-part series on water loss in the Cypress-Blanco-Wimberley Valley. Part two will examine huge
water loss problems in Woodcreek and Wimberley.
The final segment will focus on actions we need to take.

By Jack Hollon

Early settlers in the WimberleyValley chose locations that gave them ready access to water. Spring water marked by purity and good taste was preferred, but water from any of the Hill Country streams was considered drinkable under most conditions. Cypress Creek was noted for its main source, the great spring called Jacobs Well, but was also fed by numerous smaller springs, some in the streambed and others along the banks.

Water for use in homes along area creeks could be brought from a spring or creek in buckets. If there was no spring handy to the home site, a shallow hand-dug well would usually reach the water table and provide water.

As the surrounding landscape and watersheds were transformed by clearing timber, plowing, and grazing – often involving severe over-grazing and exposure of soil to erosion – there was a loss of top soil and the grass cover which helps capture water for the aquifer. The water table began to decline. Springs along the creeks began to dry up and wells had to be dug deeper. This loss of topsoil and deep-rooted grasses in the Hill Country may have been a larger factor in causing springs to dry up than the infestation of cedar which is often blamed for our water problems.

Technology, deeper wells and water suppliers

With the advent of technology and machinery that could dig deep wells, water could be provided at almost any location in western Hays, and windmills to pump these wells began to mark the landscape. As electric power became available, more and more wells were drilled and equipped with large electric-powered pumps. By mid 20th Century, most area ranches and homes were supplied by individual wells, pumped by wind or electricity. Where convenient, a well could serve two or more homes.

In the past half century we have seen the introduction and spread of Water Supply Companies of various sizes to supply water, replacing individual well systems in many cases. Wimberley Water Supply Co. was created in the 1960s as a cooperative to supply the Village and surrounding area homes and businesses. Many later developments were planned with a water company to provide water right from the beginning. Woodcreek had its own water utility which, at a later time of financial stress and “reorganization,” was sold to Aqua Source, later to become Aqua Texas Inc. Wimberley Water and Aqua Texas are the two largest water suppliers in the Valley; they serve over 3,100 connections. These include some large water users like Deer Creek Nursing Center, Rio Bonito, and the WISD campuses. An example of a smaller supplier, such as the Cedar Oaks Mesa WSC, serves only residences and the clubhouse facilities, about 200 connections.

Obviously, these water distribution systems have many strengths and advantages in providing water for human life and the economy. A company run by professionals not only provides water, but also a sense of security and well being. Next to air, water is most essential for life. Thus, a company that can reliably provide abundant pure water at a reasonable price will be highly valued and regarded.

Security and dependability are purchased at a price however. Reluctance to become the responsible and independent provider that, say, the rainwater system owner must be, is undoubtedly one of the chief obstacles to increasing the use of rainwater systems (which some regard as a necessary transition if we are to preserve springs and streams and, indeed, our present well systems).

Outgrowing our groundwater supply, living on the edge

This leads us to a cautionary note about supplying water in an ever-more-crowded Hill Country.

Water supply, once treated as unlimited, has grown more and more valuable. Water scarcity is part of present reality. Many springs and streams we once took for granted have either become intermittent, or have dried up and vanished. The trend lines for many of the wells that our groundwater conservation district is monitoring in western Hays show a downward slope. Jacobs Well stopped flowing for several months in the summer of 2000 (a first since Europeans arrived), after a drought of less than two years duration.

The demands of population growth and the values we wish to preserve in this place are colliding, forcing us to look at water supply and use in a completely new way. This re-evaluation is reinforced by our geography: we live on the edge of the great southwest desert, a region of feast and famine, flood and drought. Newcomers to the area need to learn this geography and history fast. We must plan with adequate margins for drought and error, even as we reinforce a new ethic about waste of Hill Country water: No water to waste. The bright side of this picture is the amply-demonstrated possibility of living quite well on a very conservative water budget.

Now back to our Water Supply Companies and the largely invisible water loss problem that seems to be part of delivering water by extensive pipe networks: In many cases, the water pumped from the aquifer exceeds the volume of water delivered to the customers by an unacceptable amount. The difference between what is pumped and what is sold will never be zero, but when the difference is largely due to leaks, and when these numbers are out of bounds, lying in the 20 percent to 40 percent range, there is a problem that demands attention. And we can no longer afford to treat such wasted water as a “free good,”ignoring the problem.

Jack Hollon is a long time Wimberley resident. He represents the Wimberley area on the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District board of directors.